College degrees don’t prevent racial discrimination

Back in October, I wrote about racial discrimination and its effect on black students’ achievement in high school and prospects of landing an entry-level job. Today’s New York Times had a very interesting story about the employment challenges faced by blacks who have college degrees. This is especially so when compared with whites, as “The unemployment rate for black male college graduates 25 and older in 2009 has been nearly twice that of white male college graduates — 8.4 percent compared with 4.4 percent.”

The story cites three recent studies on race and hiring (and includes links to each of them), which are worth reading. If you are short on time, I recommend at least skimming through “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?”

Also included was an anecdote about Johnny Williams, who earned an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (ranked in the top 10 among American business schools):

Mr. Williams recently applied to a Dallas money management firm that had posted a position with top business schools. The hiring manager had seemed ecstatic to hear from him, telling him they had trouble getting people from prestigious business schools to move to the area. Mr. Williams had left New York and moved back in with his parents in Dallas to save money. But when Mr. Williams later met two men from the firm for lunch, he said they appeared stunned when he strolled up to introduce himself. “Their eyes kind of hit the ceiling a bit,” he said. “It was kind of quiet for about 45 seconds.” The company’s interest in him quickly cooled, setting off the inevitable questions in his mind.

When I think back to my own years as a student, much of my hard work and motivation was based on my belief that I would earn opportunities–whether in high school, college, or the job market–equal to my achievement. This belief was rooted in the job opportunities and promotions I saw my father earn. I often wonder, what if he had come home with a story similar to that of Mr. Williams, where his talent and achievement likely were overlooked because of his race? Would I still have believed that continuing to work hard in class would pay off? As studies continue to find that racial discrimination is alive and well in hiring, I worry that many black students may become discouraged and question the utility of school.